A Brazilian official working with remote tribes in the Amazon region was killed.
The official was shot in the chest when he approached an indigenous tribe.
Rieli Franciscato, 56, passed away on Wednesday (9 September) in a remote region located in Rondnia State, northwestern Brazil.
He is in the area monitoring a tribe as part of his duties for Funai, a government agency that specializes in indigenous tribes.
An institution that Franciscato co-founded in the 1980s described the man as “extraordinary, serious and a dedicated professional.”
The Kaninde Ethno-Environmental Defense Association says indigenous peoples cannot distinguish friends or foes from outside their territory.
Franciscato, accompanied by police, tried to take cover behind a vehicle but was hit in the chest by arrows, witnesses said.
A policeman who witnessed the incident said Franciscato was able to pull out the arrow above his heart.
“He shrieked, pulled an arrow from his chest, ran 50 meters and fell lifeless,” said a policeman in an audio recording uploaded to social media.
